


The Bet

by lilostylins0n



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-18 09:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2344004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilostylins0n/pseuds/lilostylins0n
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael and Calum have a bet going: that Michael, who usually can't keep a relationship longer than two weeks, can make someone stick around for a whole month. But Michael doesn't expect the someone to be the shy kid in school, Luke Hemmings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"Oi, mate! Who're you on the phone with already?"

Michael turned around to see his best friend Calum approaching him, kicking a rock as if it were a mini soccer ball. Michael was stood at the back of the school building, the place they meet up every morning before class, phone attached to his ear.

He made a weird face at his friend before hanging up the phone and saying with a slightly defensive tone, "I was just checking my voice mail!" He paused before explaining, "Three messages from Dana and two from Tom."

Calum dropped the cigarette that was dangling from his fingers and stepped on it. He blew a cloud of smoke after mumbling, "Those names don't even ring a bell."

Michael swung the door open, lazily walking in, adjusting the bag that was slung over his shoulder. "Really? You don't even remember Dana?" He asked, as if she were the most obvious person to remember, "Blue hair, brown eyes, glasses..." Michael trailed off but Calum just shook his head.

Michael continued, "She was kinda chubby, big-"

"Give it up, Clifford!" Calum interrupted before Michael could say anything further, and that made Michael smirk and chuckle lightly. "You're hopeless," Calum added, "You date too many people."

"I do not!" Michael sounded even more defensive now, as he opened his locker, shoving books and papers in, and taking a few things out, "I can't help that people fall all over me."

"Yeah, and God only knows why. They never even stick around for longer than two weeks!"

Michael rolled his eyes, slamming his locker shut. It was quiet at first as the pair began to walk again, but then Michael said, "I bet you I could make anyone stick around with me for a month."

"Anyone I choose?" Calum asked and Michael nodded, "Care to place money on that bet?"

Michael gave it a quick thought and then said, "A hundred?" 

Calum nodded.

"You're on, Hood."

The two were about to shake on it when Michael added, "But nobody creepy. Like no parents or old men. Got it?"

Calum rolled his eyes with a small laugh; he wasn't even thinking of anybody creepy until Michael mentioned it. He immediately nodded in agreement, though, "Gotcha."

Calum wasn't exactly sure who he was going to make Michael's target, though. Michael had already been with most of the girls, and plenty of the guys in school.

As Calum looked around as they walked through the halls, he thought it was going to be hard to come up with someone. But just as they walked into their classroom for English, Calum noticed the shy blonde boy that sat in the front row, and immediately knew, that was him.

"I've got it," Calum spoke up when the pair sat at their desks in the back of the room, "I know exactly who."

"That was fast," Michael commented, "Are you sure?"

"Very!" Calum took a pause before he announced, "Luke Hemmings."


	2. One

"Hey, Luke," Ashton smiled softly as he sauntered up to the table in the cafeteria, setting his plate of pizza down and sitting across from Luke. 

Luke mumbled a hello, eyes not once leaving his notebook; he was rereading the last section of his notes for the thousandth time. It wasn't until Ashton was halfway finished with his second piece of pizza before Luke finally looked up, closed his notebook, and took a sip from his water bottle.

"I'm too nervous for that math test," He frowned, shoving the notebook in his bag, "What about you?"

"Yeah, a little," Ashton shrugged; he was always good at school, so he didn't get nervous much. "But if I were you, I'd be more nervous about Michael and Calum." Ashton nodded, glancing at the two boys through the window. 

"Wait, what?" Luke was suddenly more alert, as he was confused, "What do you mean?" Luke looked behind him, watching as the dark haired boy lit up a cigarette, while the red head chomped on nachos. 

Luke looked back at Ashton when he began to explain, "Those two have been staring at you all day, I dunno what's going on, but they're up to something."

When Luke looked over at them again, Michael flashed a big smile, accompanied with a wave. Luke immediately blushed and turned back to Ashton, putting his head down, desperately trying to hide his face. He felt a sudden nervousness in the pit of his stomach, but that was usual for him when he felt noticed. He hated attention being on him and was too shy for his own good.

"It's not me," Luke insisted; why Michael and Calum would be up to something involving him didn't make any sense. The pair had never spoken to him before, why would they all of a sudden be interested in him? 

Ashton didn't want to persist things, so he just shrugged. But still, both of them had a feeling something was suspicious. 

***

"You've officially ruined my life!" Michael exclaimed dramatically; he was internally beating himself up for being awkward all of a sudden. Michael was usually smooth, he didn't know how or why he already embarrassed himself with Luke.

Calum was still in a fit of laughter after the small encounter, "I'm so winning this bet!" He said cockily, earning a backhand to the arm from Michael.

"I'm serious!" Michael huffed as he got up to throw away his now empty plate that was previously full of nachos and cheese, "I don't know how I'm going to talk to this kid."

"Well, it seems like you're off to a great start," Calum laughed again at his own sarcasm before putting out his cigarette and putting the unfinished half back in his pack. 

Michael groaned, and the pair left their seats outside to walk back into the building, heading towards their next class. "Seriously, you gotta help me with this!"

Calum shook his head, tutting, "I'm not gonna help you win! I want that hundred, and I'm gonna get it."

"Yeah, don't be so sure of yourself," Michael rolled his eyes, though right now it seemed like Calum's chances of winning were better than his. Michael had no plan to talk to this kid and had already made a fool of himself. He wasn't sure if it could get any better. 

***

The last class of the day was usually Michael's favorite, but right now, he was stressing too much to even concentrate. He wanted to talk to Luke before the end of the day, and had already made a fool out of himself once, and didn't want to do it again.

Michael plopped down in his seat next to Calum just as the bell rang, and began to mumble something about his problems again, as the teacher started assigning partners for the project on eras she'd been talking about all week.

Calum was too absorbed in whatever Michael was going on about, that when the teacher called his name, he had to ask her to repeat. 

"You're with Ashton," She said again, and Calum looked over at the semi-familiar face; Ashton was Luke's best friend, everybody knew that.

"Cool!" Michael whispered to Calum, "Dude, you could totally hook me up with Luke that way."

"Aaaand Michael..." Michael looked up at the sudden mention of his name, "You're with Luke."

Michael felt his heart drop. Luke didn't even look back at him, but now Michael was staring at the unaware blonde boy, wondering what he was thinking.

"Well," Calum started, "At least now you can talk to him."

Michael rolled his eyes at Calum's comment, and got up, strutting over to his partner. Focus, He reminded himself, It's just Luke. 

"Hey, Hemmings," Michael said, trying to sound confident when he sat in Ashton's seat, after Ashton got up to sit with Calum.

Luke barely even glanced at Michael, who could tell he was obviously nervous. Michael sighed, and unfolded the piece of paper that the teacher dropped on the desk in front of them.

"Looks like we got the sixties," Michael announced, sliding the paper over to Luke, who tapped on it.

"Yep," He mumbled, and Michael let out a quiet sigh of relief that he finally said a word. 

"So," Michael prompted, shifting in his seat a bit nervously, "Do you know anything about the sixties?"

Luke hesitated, as if he were giving it a bit of thought, before saying, "Music. The Beatles."

Michael nodded, "Yeah, that's about all I know too," Michael laughed, which surprisingly made Luke crack a small smile. "Guess we'll just have to do a lot of research," Michael added, "Wanna come to my house?" 

Now his smooth skills were coming back, and he was ecstatic when Luke mumbled a yes with a nod, because it could only get better from here.


	3. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post this one just yet, but since you guys are being so nice and loving it, here ya go! Leave more feedback & stuff, I'd love to hear it :]

"So, hows Michael?" Ashton asked when he shuffled up to Luke's locker after the final bell rang. Luke was collecting everything he needed to study or do for homework, as Ashton leaned against the wall. 

"He's fine, I guess," Luke shrugged, neatly aligning his folders together in his bag, "Dunno, really. But he asked me to come over tonight for research."

"Yeah, Calum wants me to come over, too," Ashton said, "Guess we're not gonna hang out tonight after all, then."

Luke gave another shrug, closing his locker and the two began to walk off, "Guess not," Luke mumbled, "But I have to get home and check things out there, anyway." Luke sighed and Ashton frowned sympathetically. Home was never Luke's favorite place, and Ashton always felt bad for him when he had to be there. 

"Well do you need a ride?" Ashton offered, half smiling as they approached the parking lot.

"Sure," Luke replied simply.

The two hopped inside Ashton's car, and Luke felt cozy when he turned on the heater. After lunch, the day became rainy and gross and Luke grew cold, so finally feeling warm was nice. 

The two talked a little about their projects as Ashton drived. Ashton and Calum's era they got was the 80s, but they were both okay with that. 

"He seems nice," Ashton admitted as they pulled up to Luke's house, "He just always smells like smoke."

Luke forced out a small laugh as he stared out the window at the house, and the black car parked in the driveway, telling him that his brother was home.

Luke mumbled a "thanks for the ride" before hopping out of the car, and dragging his feet up to the house. Ashton pulled off when Luke jammed his key in the lock, twisting it and jiggling the door a bit before pushing it open.

The first thing Luke noticed was the pile of shoes scattered by the door, letting him know that more than one or two people were in his home. He sighed, setting his bag on the couch before fixing the messy pile, and searching through the downstairs for anyone. 

Nobody was in sight, so it was safe to say they were all upstairs and probably doing things Luke didn't want to know about. So, Luke took out multiple books and notebooks, and began to do homework and study.

School was something Luke always tried to make perfect. Nobody in his family had ever gotten into a good college, and he was determined to be the first one. So, studying and doing every homework assignment, and sometimes even asking for extra things to do, took up most of his free time. 

He didn't really mind, though, as Luke really did only have one friend: Ashton. Luke met him back when he was the new kid when they were ten. He was the only other kid that had a sort of broken family, and Luke liked that he could relate to that. They got on well by talking about how annoying their parents were and how they had to clean up and take care of things around the house.

However, Ashton's life progressively got better, while Luke's stayed the same. Luke thought his would get better if his brothers ever went off to college, but that never happened. 

After spending an hour with his face stuffed in books, Luke got up and started examining things around the house. He picked up empty cups, groaning at the thought of his irritating brothers being home again. 

It was honestly rare that anybody was in Luke's house, even Luke. He tried to stay with Ashton, at the library, or anywhere he could get away. Luke's mother and father always spent time at bars or casinos, and his brothers, Jack and Ben, were always with friends. 

Luke spent another hour cleaning up the downstairs and making everything look perfect, before his cell phone buzzed with a text message from Michael, asking if Luke was still coming over soon. Luke just replied with a 'yes' and began packing his bag again, ready to leave. 

***

"Hey, Luke, good to see you!" Michael smiled as he swung open the door to his house, stepping aside to let Luke slowly walk in. 

Luke said what Michael figured was a "hi" under his breath, and Michael led him down the hall to his bedroom.

"Sorry, it's quite messy," Michael apologized, but when Luke stepped in, it looked a lot cleaner than he expected. 

Luke stood near the door as Michael sat on the spinny chair at the desk. Luke looked at the many band posters hanging on the walls, the little clutter in a corner near the closet, and the purple and blue sheets on the bed. He already thought Michael's room was cooler than his.

Michael felt a little ball of nerves in his stomach as he watched Luke's eyes scan the room, so he pulled up an orange chair next to his, patting it lightly and saying, "You can sit if you want."

Luke nodded, and took a seat finally as Michael opened his laptop. The first thing he opened was iTunes, muttering an apology about how he can't work without music. And when Luke gave a half smile and agreed, Michael found himself staring.

A small dimple appeared on Luke's face, and to Michael, it was the most adorable thing he's seen all day. But when Luke felt Michael's eyes burning into him, he looked down and started fumbling nervously with his fingers.

Michael looked away, clearing his throat and opened Google to start looking up things for their project. They gathered a few historical facts about things they found uninteresting, before moving on to cooler things like music. 

Whenever Michael's eyes got tired, or rather, he got bored, he leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes and yawning, asking, "Do you think we have enough info for today?"

Luke wanted to be honest; wanted to say they should keep going, gather more facts, but that was the perfectionist side of him speaking, and for some reason he didn't want to seem lame around Michael, so he nodded, "Yeah, I think we're good."

"Thank God," Michael laughed, closing the many tabs they had open, but leaving the music from iTunes continue playing.

"This is your favorite band, huh?" Luke asked, and Michael could've sworn that was the most put together sentence he had ever heard Luke Hemmings say.

"Yeah," Michael replied, glancing around his room at his many posters, a few of them signed, "How could you tell!?" He asked sarcastically, and Luke chuckled.

"They're my favorite, too," Luke said, and Michael was honestly a bit surprised. He knew next to nothing about this kid, but the fact that he liked Blink-182 made Michael think there had to be something good about him.


	4. Three

"Cal! I'm too tired for my own good," Michael hollered as he walked up behind Calum, that same place they meet up. Calum was inhaling as much of his cigarette as he could before he got too cold, as it was rainy again. 

"You're too tired!?" Calum asked, as if he were offended, "Ashton didn't leave my house till midnight!" 

"Woah," Michael said, crossing his arms over his chest in attempts to keep himself warm, "Why so late?"

"Because he's cool as hell," Calum responded nonchalantly, finally giving up on the cancer stick so the two could walk inside.

The warmth of the building made the pair smile, and Calum continued to explain, "Dude, he plays drums, and has great music taste. He's pretty awesome, I didn't expect it. How's Hemmings?"

"Still shy," Michael mumbled, accompanied by a sigh, "He barely talks at all."

"Well, everyone knows that," Calum replied in a smart ass tone, and Michael hit his arm lightly as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, Calum!" Michael groaned, "The only thing I know about him is that he likes Blink."

"Well, that's a good start."

Michael knew Calum was right; he had to start somewhere small with Luke, but he wasn't used to that. What he was used to was people attatching themselves to him after only about ten minutes of conversation. 

And Michael liked that; he liked attention, because he didn't really get much at home. His parents were there sometimes, but they were usually too busy with their jobs or friends or other social functions they felt they had to attend, and Michael had no siblings. He was pretty much alone other than Calum, and his tens and tens of romantic partners. 

***

"Hey, Luke! Over here!" Luke looked up, seeing Ashton standing up at a circle table at the back of the cafeteria, waving a hand, along with Michael and Calum. 

Luke scratched the back of his neck and dragged his feet to the table nervously. Ashton gave a warm smile, and Luke sat down.

Calum polietly introduced himself, and Ashton and Michael continued to babble to each other. It was unexpected, but Ashton and Michael clicked instantly; they had no idea what they were even saying to each other, but they were erupting in laughter and had permanant smiles on their faces.

Luke felt out of place. He tried to make small conversation with Calum, but Luke found him cocky and sarcastic, so he just pulled out his notebooks and drank his chocolate milk, half paying attention to the three boys across from him.

"I quite feel bad for Lukey over there," Calum said and suddenly Luke was listening a bit more, "Having to work with your sorry ass."

Michael rolled his eyes, laughing lightly, "Hey, I think I did pretty good last night. What d'you reckon, Luke?"

Luke looked up and then started to feel himself blush. "Yeah," He muttered, but spoke a little louder than he normally did, when he put his head back down, "You did alright."

Michael's mouth dropped as if he were actually offended, and he jokingly exclaimed, "Alright!? I did much better than alright!"

Luke couldn't hide his laughter, both dimples appearing. That made Michael smile even bigger, and he began to think he may have a little problem.


	5. Four

Oddly enough, weekends were Luke's least favorite part of the week. Usually, his parents were never home, and his brothers were always there. However, this weekend, instead of blaring music and the squeals of girls, he was listening to his parents having a screaming match.

This was honestly nothing new, though. Any time they were home, or any time they were sober, they were fighting. 

His dad yelled at his mom about the kids, about how messy the house was, anything. Luke would sometimes try to break it up, and take the blame for things, but his father always put it on his mother again. 

With all of the yelling and annoyances filling the house, Luke couldn't stay there any longer. He packed his bag, and left the house immediately, not sure where he was going.

Ashton had told Luke that he'd be with Calum, or doing things for their project, so the only other person Luke could think to call was Michael. But, Luke quickly erased that thought. He'd only known Michael for two days now, he couldn't run to his house and lay all his problems on him.

So, Luke escaped to one of his favorite places- the library. He had a table and chair that he'd basically claimed for himself in the back near the heater. 

He plopped down in the chair, setting his bag on the table. He took his phone out of his pocket, his thumb hovering over Michael's contact. He was hesitant, but something inside him had an urge to just text Michael, just to say hi or see how his weekend was going. 

So, he did.

***

Michael was surprised to see Luke's name appear on his phone screen, but it definitely made him happier as he was sat on his bed, beating Calum at Mario Kart. Michael didn't text back until after they finished the level, and Calum just smirked at him.

"Hemmings?"

"Yup."

Calum began to chuckle under his breath, shaking his head as the two started up a new round of the game. Michael ignored him at first, but then asked, sounding a little too defensive, "What?"

Calum glanced over at him, then looking back at the TV, "Nothing," He lied.

"It's not nothing," Michael persisted, pausing the game to glare at his friend, "What are you on about, douche?"

Calum rolled his eyes, "Unpause the game."

"Tell me what you're talking about!"

"Unpause the game!"

Michael groaned, unpausing the game and the two started up the race again. Calum finally explained, "I just think you already like Luke."

"What!?" Michael didn't know why he had such a defensive reaction, but that's just how it came out, "I do not like Luke! This is purely for the bet. The fact that he's cool is just a bonus."

Calum just chuckled again, and Michael let it go because, though he wouldn't admit it, he knew Calum was partly right. Michael had a habit of falling for people quickly, too, but he had only known this kid for two days, it'd be crazy if he actually liked him!

Plus, this bet was still going, and he had to win, he couldn't let anything get in the way of it or stop that, no matter how much his feelings persisted.


	6. Five

"Wow, you look great," Calum said sarcastically when he and Michael met up outside of school on Monday morning. Michael simply rolled his eyes and opened the door to the building, walking inside and feeling content when his body radiated with warmth, finally.

He justified himself with a lazy shrug, muttering, "I was up late." 

"Well, you didn't have to be chatting with Hemmo until two in the morning."

Michael felt himself begin to blush, but he struck Calum's arm, defending himself, "It wasn't even that late, you twat, shut up." 

Calum just laughed as they sauntered into their first period classroom. Michael considered sitting next to Luke when he saw him there alone, but decided against it; Ashton would sit with him as always, and Michael with Calum. That was just how it was.

Calum rambled on about his times with Ashton; they were mostly finished with their project on the 80s, and the two had even started to play some music together. Michael made a joke about Calum liking Ashton, but Calum just rolled his eyes. 

The day dragged on, Michael barely staying awake in most of his classes. He was having such a boring day, but he couldn't help but smile when Luke passed behind him as he stood at his locker, and said a small "hello". 

Luke wasn't having that much of a good day, either, but the way Michael's hair looked more bed head than usual, accompanied by his choice of plaid pajama pants, made Luke chuckle and feel a little better. 

Luke didn't know why he felt or couldn't explain how he felt about Michael already. He'd only known Michael for a few days, but he could see that he was a funny, smart, caring person. However, anybody that was better than his family was considered amazing in Luke's mind.

When Luke was home during the weekend, he got in the middle of another one of his parents fights, and was told some horrible things. He spent Sunday trying to make everything in the house look perfect and spluttering apologies but not knowing why he was sorry. 

It felt like the first half of the day dragged on for hours until it was finally time for lunch. The four sat together again, but this time, Calum and Ashton were too indulged in their own conversation that they were barely paying attention to Luke and Michael.

Michael took advantage of that, though, and talked to Luke about little things like what he did all weekend. Luke tensed up, but just answered that he cleaned and studied a lot. Michael found is suspicious when Luke suddenly bit his lip and fussed with his fingers, becoming awkward, but Michael didn't question it.


	7. Six

Two days pass, and for those two days, Luke isn't in school. The first day, Ashton pretends he's not worried when Michael asks if he's heard from Luke, and just says that he's probably sick. But the second day, Ashton can't hide his anxiety.

Luke would never miss two days of school in a row, as it was rare that he'd even miss a day. Neither Ashton nor Michael had gotten any texts from Luke, and that was unsettling for the both of them.

"It's probably something going on with his parents," Ashton blurts as they're sitting at lunch, one chair empty, "He's probably not told you, but his family sucks."

Michael's nerves then began to bother him more, and he shot Luke a text, just simply saying that he was checking in. When Luke didn't respond, Michael begged Ashton for his address, and as soon as lunch was over, he skipped the rest of the school day, and went to Luke's.

He was nervous as he approached the doorstep; once he got there, something in his mind kept telling him to turn away. There were no cars in the driveway; maybe nobody was even home. However, Michael took a deep breath in, and knocked.

He held his breath as he stood there. He knocked again, and another minute passed, before a very sleepy, messy looking Luke opened the door, rubbing his eyes. He yawned, and didn't notice Michael until he looked up. He became suddenly alert when he saw the red head.

"Michael," He muttered.

"Sorry," Michael said, "I just- You weren't in school and I- I wanted to check on you," Michael didn't know where the sudden nerves and stutters were coming from.

Luke sighed, "Yeah, there's been... Family trouble," He sighs again, before forcing a smile and stepping aside, asking, "D'you wanna come in?"

Michael accepted his offer, stepping in hesitantly. The first thing he realized was how absolutely clean Luke's house was. Luke gave a genuine half smile when the two locked eye contact, and then Luke lead Michael upstairs to his room. 

Luke plopped down on his unmade bed, patting the empty spot next to him. Michael scratched the back of his neck before he sat down. The pair sat in awkward silence before Michael said, "So, can I ask why you've ditched the last two days?"

Luke didn't know why, didn't know where it even came from, but he felt his eyes swell up with tears. He tried to look away from Michael, look out the window, look down, anything. But he couldn't hide it, Michael knew. And Michael put his arm around him, making Luke flinch slightly.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Michael cooed as Luke sniffled, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked... But, you can talk to me about anything you want, okay?" 

Luke wiped his eyes and nose on the sleeve of his jumper, before finally looking over at Michael, and blushing when he realized he must've looked ridiculous. Michael just flashed a look of sympathy.

"My parents are getting a divorce," Luke finally said, "And even though I- I saw it coming... I just feel like everyth-thing is falling a-apart," Luke continued to sob as Michael attempted to sooth him, rubbing his back gently. Comforting was never Michael's strong point, though.

However, after a few moments of nobody speaking, the only sounds in the room being Luke's quiet cries, Michael thought of the best advice he could give. He told that he didn't exactly understand what that's like, but he knew it'd all turn out okay. He figured the advice he was giving was cliche and Luke probably didn't want to hear it, but it was the best he could think of, and it made Luke smile through his sniffles and wiping his tears. 

And then somehow, after the two locked eye contact for a solid minute, Luke's lips were on Michael's. They were kissing, just softly, enough for Luke to feel safe and comforted. But then Luke pulled away with the most mortified look on his face, and said, "I'm sorry." 

Luke hopped off the bed, acting like the most horrible thing possible just happened. He rubbed his temples with a groan, and couldn't even look at Michael when he said, "You should- You should probably, uhm, go."

"Luke-"

"I'm sorry, I just- Please."

Michael didn't want to upset him anymore, and despite the fact that he was completely confused, he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> commments? :) lemme know what yall thinkk!


	8. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments! Y'all are great. The story is more than half way finished now c:

The next day, Michael makes it a point to sit next to Luke's normal seat in first period, so he could try and talk to him, if he was even coming to school. And Michael gave a soft smile when the blonde walked in, but he barely even glanced, and walked past, finding a new place to sit. 

Michael sighed, and returned to his usual spot next to Calum, plopping down and folding his arms over his chest, muttering, "Looks like you may have won already."

A part of Calum wanted to say, "really? sweet!" but instead, he gave a sympathetic sigh and encouraged, "You have to try to talk to him somehow, Mike. I mean, you still have to work on the project, don't you?"

In all honesty, Michael had forgotten all about the stupid project, but now, maybe it'd help him.

***

Luke yanked Ashton by the wrist over to the table they normally sat at for lunch, so they didn't have to be with the other two. Ashton was a little bummed he didn't get to spend time with Calum, but he was more worried about Luke because he hadn't spoke to him in a few days, so it'd be nice for them to catch up.

However, Luke didn't do much talking. He just didn't want to be around Michael. He was still beating himself up for leaning in and kissing him, and liking it. He kept remembering how safe and warm he felt, Michael's soft lips gave him a sense of coziness. 

After awhile, though, Ashton couldn't handle the deafening silence and asked Luke to explain some things. Luke started out by explaining his parents and their divorce, and then, blushing profusely, he confessed to kissing Michael.

"I'm such an idiot!" He added after the explanation, "I don't know why I would do something so stupid."

"Hmm, maybe because you like him!" Ashton blurts, flashing a cheeky smile.

And it was sort of true; Luke did have some feelings for Michael, especially after he comforted Luke the way he did, Luke couldn't resist. He was the only person that was treating him fairly well besides Ashton, and there was no denying that.

***

It took a lot of courage for Michael to walk up to Luke's doorstep again that night after school. But with a lot of deep breaths and reminding himself that he shouldn't be nervous, its just Luke, he did it. He knocked, and it didn't take long this time for Luke to answer.

"Hey," Luke muttered, eyes on the floor along with a lip bite.

"Hey," Michael said back, and with another deep breath, mumbled out so fast it was almost incoherent, "I know that you're I guess sort of nervous to see me or something but we have to finish the project so I just came by for that and-"

"Michael," Luke finally looked up, half smiling at the babbling boy. He stepped aside, opening the door further to allow Michael inside. Michael let out a sigh of relief accompanied by a soft smile as he stepped in. 

Being in Luke's room together again made Luke more uncomfortable than he could even describe, but he tried to deal with it the best he could. 

The two started work on their project, and was mostly silent other than "do you think we should add this random fact" or "okay, write this down" or other little things like that. Luke was barely looking at the older boy, and Michael began to feel a little awkward himself, which was something he hated.

So, somewhere in between Luke mumbling something he was writing down that he found on Google, Michael blurted, "Luke, stop."

Luke immediately shut up, and locked eye contact with Michael, who was sitting on the bean bag on the floor, while Luke was hovering above him on his desk chair.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked simply.

"I want us to be okay," Michael confessed, and genuinely had a bit of sadness in his voice, "I want you to know," Michael took a deep breath before admitting, again in his rambling almost incoherentness, "That's its okay that we kissed and it's okay if you like me because I like you, too."

Luke was silent for a good minute. He looked down, started fumbling with his fingers nervously, trying to think of a way to respond. But when he didn't, Michael got up, and pressed their lips together again, this kiss a little more rough, and deeper than the last. 

They both smiled at each other when they pulled away.


	9. Eight

Michael's problem from a few days prior was even bigger now. When he kissed Luke, it was on a whim, almost totally and completely just for the bet. But after hanging out with Luke that night, going out to dinner with him the next day, and now cuddling on his bed while watching a dumb movie on Netflix, Michael's "little feelings" are stronger than ever. 

And it was starting to scare him, because, this all started out because of a stupid bet with his best friend. In the beginning, Michael figured, "I'll seduce the kid, he'll fall in love with me, and after a month, Calum will give me a hundred and I'll continue on with my life like nothing happened."

But now, all Michael can think is, "I'm a douchebag playing with this poor, amazing, funny and cute kids feelings, and whenever this damn bet is over, I'll be the idiot." And besides that, Michael didn't want it to end after the month, if he could even make it that far without messing anything up. Maybe Calum's right. However, it's already been two weeks now, and Luke was still around. 

Despite all of Michael's confusing thoughts, he really loved spending time with Luke. And when Luke would look up at him and kiss his cheek, he felt butterflies in his stomach - a feeling that he hadn't felt in a while. 

It was really nice, the two of them laying together on Michael's bed. Luke was in between Michael's legs, laying with his head on his chest, and Michael's arms wrapped around him, head resting on Luke's shoulder. 

However, it was getting late, almost 1 am, and Michael was getting tired. He yawned in Luke's ear, making Luke shiver and then the both of them laugh. Luke then mumbled something about not being able to go to Ashton's this weekend to stay over, because he and Calum were camping. 

Michael found that amusing, but then asked, "Why can't you just go home, babe?" He didn't know where the 'babe' came from, but it made Luke blush and flash his dimples slightly, so that made Michael happy.

Luke sighed a long sigh, before answering, "Because my brothers are home... And my brothers suck." Luke went on to tell Michael little things about his brothers, and started to open up a little more about his family. Michael was holding him even tighter out of protection, and frowned sympathetically afterwards.

"I'm sorry you have to put up with them," Michael confessed honestly; Michael thought his family was slightly dysfunctional because his parents were never home, but Luke's... Luke's was definitely worse. 

Luke sighed again with a shrug of his shoulders, and got up to move, but Michael held him there, and half smiled, offering, "Stay with me."


	10. Nine

It was such a different feeling that it was almost hard to admit, but Luke was happy. He had spent the weekend at Michael's, the two just cuddling, talking, watching movies or doing other little things. He was just generally happy to be around someone that was treating him nice, and wasn't angry or yelling.

Once Monday rolled around, Calum and Ashton came back from their little trip, and the four of them went to school together. That was also different for Luke, being in a group. But it was a nice feeling, too. The four were being driven around by Ashton, sitting together at lunch again, and even played video games together after school.

By Tuesday, the projects were all finished and ready to be presented. Without worry, Calum and Ashton go first to present their project, and then Luke and Michael. Both of the pairs ended up doing really well on them, too. Luke and Michael better than Calum and Ash, of course. 

But when it's Wednesday, Michael is starting to feel extremely guilty and conflicted. Especially when he's on the phone with Luke before bed, and Luke blurts, "What are we?"

Michael doesn't know how to answer, so he just pretends he's fallen asleep. He hears Luke whisper, "Goodnight, darling." Michael smiles, but once Luke hangs up the phone, he calls Calum with panic in his voice.

"I don't know what to do!" He confesses. And it's not even about winning or losing the dumb bet they had anymore. Now it's about the fact that it was all for a stupid bet in the first place, and how would he ever be able to explain that to Luke? He cursed himself and Calum for being such idiots in the first place.

"You have to tell him," is the only advice Calum could think of in that moment. And that's really the only thing Michael could think of, too. He just had to try and do it in a way that didn't make him sound like a harsh douchebag. 

So Thursday rolls around and the four of them ride to school in Ashton's car, and see each other throughout the day and sit together at lunch, Michael and Luke being "sickeningly cute" in the words of Ashton. 

However, through texts messages, Calum kept persisting Michael to tell the truth already. Michael just kept putting it off, trying to find better ways of doing it or saying it. 

After school, Ashton took everybody home, Luke with him as for some reason his parents and his brothers were all home together at the moment. But just as Luke was getting out of the car to go into Ashton's house, he noticed Michael's phone laying in the back seat, and asked Ashton if he'd drive him back to Michael's house so he could give it to him. 

Ashton, of course, said, "Anything for the happy couple."

Luke was smiling when he hopped out of the car and walked up to the house, holding the phone in one hand and knocking on the door with the other. He stood there and waited for Michael, or someone, to answer, when the phone buzzed, and Luke looked down.

Calum: so did you tell him yet?

Tell who what, Luke thought, and figured maybe it was about him. Luke looked up, and knocked on the door again a little louder this time, and then opened the text message from Calum. Luke ended up scrolling through their conversation, and what he found couldn't have upset him more.

"A bet?" He mumbled to himself, and finally Michael opened the door.

Michael smiled that smile that once made Luke happy, "What are you doing here?" Michael asked.

Luke handed Michael the phone, answering honestly, "You left your phone in Ashton's car, so I came to give it back," But then there was absolute harshness in Luke's voice, "A bet?" He spat, "Y'know... I'm really glad the projects over. Because I never wanna see you again."

Michael's speechless as Luke turns and gets back to Ashton's car as quick as he can, slamming the door. Michael looks down at his phone, seeing that Luke had read all the text messages between he and Calum today. 

And while a part of Michael wanted to be mad at Luke for reading the messages, he was really just mad at himself for being so stupid.


	11. Ten

For the next few days, Michael was so upset he couldn't even bring himself to get out of bed. He was barely eating, not playing any video games, and sleeping a lot. He had never been so disappointed in himself, and it felt like he was being stabbed in the chest. 

Michael didn't know why this hurt so bad. He was with and without people so quickly all the time, but he knew that somehow, this time it was different.

Michael and Luke weren't even together for long, but the time they spent together was amazing, it made Michael feel like nothing he'd felt in a long, long time. 

Calum kept trying to get Michael out of bed to go apologize to Luke in person, but that just wasn't happening. Michael could barely stutter out his apologies on the voicemails he'd left, and thought every text he sent sounded stupid.

Plus, he wouldn't be able to stand to see Luke so hurt in person, knowing that it was all his fault. The anger that burned on Luke's face Thursday was just enough to kill Michael then, he could only imagine how broken Luke looked now. 

So, Michael stayed in bed the whole weekend, constantly checking his phone and occasionally sending out more apologies and explanations and rambles. Luke never responded. But Michael knew that if he were Luke, he wouldn't accept them either.

Once it was finally Monday, Calum ended up dragging Michael out of bed, almost literally. Michael barely made himself look good, and the two walked to school, as Ashton said it probably wasn't the best idea for them to all be together right now. 

When Michael got to school, the first thing he did was go to Luke's locker and wait for him. However, when Luke saw him leaning against the wall, he rolled his eyes and went in the opposite direction, deciding whatever he needed wasn't that important.

By lunch, Michael had put four babbling notes in Luke's locker. Luke ripped them all up, without reading the second, third and fourth. 

At the end of the day, Michael appeared at Luke's locker again. He wasn't giving up, he was too determined. Thankfully, Luke needed too many things that he couldn't skip this locker trip. So he stood there, taking things out and putting them in his bag while Michael pleaded, "Luke, you've got to forgive me. I know you've heard my explanation a million times and I was an idiot but please!"

Luke just shook his head and tutted. When he shut his locker, he looked Michael dead in the eye and harshly demanded, "Stay away from me."

***

Luke was hurt. No, Luke was worse than hurt. Luke had too many emotions that he couldn't even begin to describe, and he didn't want to deal with Michael stalking him all day again, so Luke decided to skip school the next two days. It'd be good to catch up on cleaning with all the time he'd been spending out of the house anyway. 

It drove Michael crazy not being able to see Luke, and he still hadn't eased up on the texts or calls. It was honestly becoming hard for Luke to ignore him; it was nice, in a way, all the attention. But Luke was still slightly upset.

So, Luke tried to ignore his phones occasionally buzzing and ringing, and started to clean the house, as finally, everyone was gone. It wasn't for long, though, sadly, as Wednesday night his parents came back from some function they were invited to, and his father started yelling at his mother for acting "the wrong way" in front of everyone.

Luke wasn't getting in the middle of this one, he just continued to pick up things around the living room and shove them in a trash bag. However, Luke's father somehow ended up in the room with him, and suddenly, his fist was colliding with Luke's face.

That was something that hadn't happened in a while. Luke honestly thought he stopped being physical with him. 

Luke was mortified, and started crying as he ran out of the house. He desperately dialed Ashton's number, but when he repeatedly didn't answer, he knew he only had one more option.


	12. Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, the last chapter! i hope you guys loved this. i loved writing it (: i might do another fic soon idk. lemme know what you think?! xxx

Michael was out of his house and in his parents car as if he was trying to run away. It was very likely that he could've gotten pulled over the way he was ignoring the road rules and speed limits, but as soon as Luke called him and was sobbing on the other end of the phone, choking out an explanation of what happened, Michael was up and out of bed for the first time in days.

He tried to stay focused as he drove, tried to convince himself that everything would be fine, but Luke sounded so scared and hurt that Michael was more worried than he'd ever been before. 

Michael felt his heart drop when he finally saw Luke. He was standing on the side of the road, hunched over a bit, looking as if he was out of breath. Michael immediately pulled over, hopped out of the car and ran over to the younger boy, embracing him tightly. Luke finally felt okay when Michael's arms were wrapped around him.

The two hugged silently for a good two minutes before Luke pulled away, and Michael examined the medium sized cut on his face and eye that was beginning to turn purple. Michael became angry at Luke's stupid father; how could anyone hurt Luke like this?

Michael brought Luke to the car, and handed him a water bottle, instructing him to take deep breaths and small sips. Michael mumbled about how happy he was to see Luke, and that made Luke smile slightly. Michael rubbed Luke's cheek with his thumb, before on a whim pulling him in for a small kiss. Michael was more than happy when Luke actually kissed back.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Michael finally said, as he helped Luke into the passengers seat.

Luke sighed, not knowing what to say; he wanted to say he was fine, or that he would be fine, but it just wasn't the truth.

"And I'm still so completely sorry about-"

"Michael," Luke interrupted, "I don't want to talk about that anymore. Can we just go back to your house?"

Michael nodded, and got back into the car himself, carefully driving them back to his place.

When they got home, Michael helped Luke clean the wound on his face, Luke hissing at the sharp stinging pain. Michael kissed Luke's cheek softly and then Luke hummed, feeling content. 

As Michael cleaned up Luke, Michael babbled on about how he was never going to let this happen again, that Luke could stay with him, or Ashton or even Calum but Michael wasn't letting him go back to his parents while his dad was there. 

"Thank you for... Saving me," Luke said, as Michael was staring into his eyes.

Michael just smiled, then leaned in and kissed his lips. Luke held Michael's cheeks as he kissed back deeper. They rested their foreheads on each others when Luke pulled away, and he was smiling so big those dimples Michael loved were prominent on his face.

"It was my pleasure, Hemmings," Michael chuckled.

Afterwards, the two got comfortable in their favorite position on Michael's bed, and turned on their favorite album. They lay there and cuddle, and finally for once in his life, Luke felt safe.


End file.
